rinciples upon which they are
to be interpreted.

An _allegory_ is a narrative of a real event expressed in figurative
language; that is, where one historic transaction is described under the
image of another. Thus in chap. 17:1-10, the two great eagles are
Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh; the highest branch of the cedar is
Jehoiachin; the cropping off and carrying away of this branch is his
removal by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon, etc. So also the extended
descriptions of Jerusalem in chap. 16, and of Jerusalem and Samaria in
chap. 23, under the figure of lewd women. For other beautiful examples
of allegory see Judges 9:8-15; Isa. 5:1-6; Psa. 80; Mark 12:1-9.

In scriptural usage _parables_ are not always distinguished from
allegories. But properly speaking parables are narratives of supposed
incidents--at least of incidents the reality of which is of no
consequence--for the purpose of illustrating important truths; while
allegories are figurative descriptions of actual events.

A _symbol_ represents some great truth or event of the future under the
form of an action, or some material structure or arrangement. _Prophetic
symbols_ take the form of actions, and are of two kinds:

First, _actual_, where the prophet himself performs some action before
the eyes of his countrymen; as in chap. 24:18, where Ezekiel, in
obedience to God's command, refrains from all expressions of grief at
the death of his wife; and chap, 37:16, 17, where he joins together two
sticks to represent the reunion of the ten tribes with Judah and
Benjamin. See also Jer. 27:2 compared with 28:10.

Secondly, _ideal_; that is, seen only in vision; like Ezekiel's prophecy
upon the dry bones, chap. 37:1-10, and his measurements of the New
Jerusalem with its temple, porches, etc. Chaps. 40-48.

It is often difficult to determine to which of these two classes a given
symbol belongs. Did Jeremiah, for example, actually go to Euphrates to
bury the linen girdle there, or only in prophetic ecstacy? Jer. 13:1-11.
Did Ezekiel perform the acts recorded in chap. 4 in reality or in
vision? The answer to such questions is not of great importance, since
either way the meaning of the symbols and the instructions which they
furnish are the same.

18. If we divide the book of Ezekiel into two equal parts of twenty-four
chapters each, the _first_ part contains prophecies delivered before the
overthrow of Jerusalem. These are arranged in chronological order. After
an introd